I bought Delta and Ghosts 'n' Goblins, each as an introductory offer for joining a Commodore 64 games club. What a bargain! Both games are great but Delta was my favorite Commodore 64 game of all time, and I still play it today on my Commodore 64 emulator on my laptop.
What is the reason that I play this game that is about twenty years old? It's just so darn playable, as all good shoot-'em-ups should be. The graphics aren't great (and neither are the graphics for the sequel to Delta, which is called Armalyte) but the music is fantastic.
It was written by Rob Hubbard, who is well known to all Commodore 64 fans. Not only do you get great music at the title screen, and while you play the game (you have the option of sound effects, but you'd be mad to do this), but it introduced the Commodore 64 world to the Mix-E-Load. What's that, you ask? The Mix-E-Load was a piece of genius. You were given a basic tune while the game was loading, but you could alter the bass, drums and other effects. I'll have to try and get a copy of that.
I managed to obtain a cheat for Delta that gave unlimited lives. So one afternoon, I spent a few hours killing countless aliens in 32 levels and eventually
finished the game. Rather than getting a great end-of-game screen that should reward you for all your efforts, I was frustratingly put back to the start of the game! Yes, the game loops. At first I was furious, but realized that the music had changed, and the aliens did come at you in a different formation. I think it was worth it. It really adds to the challenge.
I definitely recommend everyone to get hold of a SID player and also the file for all the Delta tunes. Although it doesn’t compare to today’s musical masterpieces, the music does hold a special place in my heart, and I’m sure all Commodore 64 users also have a special game.
So, in short, I recommend that everyone gets a Commodore 64 emulator and gets a copy of Delta. In fact, while you are at it, get hold of all the games written by Thalamus, who released the game. They also released Sanxion, Armalyte (mentioned earlier), Hunter’s Moon, Quedex, Creatures, Snare plus a few others that I’ve forgotten about. Delta, however, is my favorite of the group and is a nostalgic masterpiece.
